A massive wave of suspected illegally filmed Oktoberfest footage has surfaced online, making its way onto Meta's platforms, YouTube and TikTok. Investigators found more than 32,000 videos linked to one festival attraction on Meta alone, with thousands more on YouTube and TikTok.
According to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the recordings came from the 'Devil's Wheel' — a classic festival ride where participants try to stay seated on a fast-spinning disc.
The clips centre on female visitors whose skirts and traditional Alpine dresses fly up as the ride spins. More than 32,000 videos connected to the attraction were identified across Meta platforms, alongside thousands of additional uploads on YouTube and TikTok.
Many accounts distributing the content list locations in countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, while others are officially registered in the US. Some have thousands of followers.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, some accounts use artificial intelligence to alter genuine footage and bypass automated platform moderation. Others use entirely AI-generated videos of women in traditional Alpine dresses to promote paid subscription links.
AI, Monetisation and Moderation Gaps
Running from 19 September through 4 October in Munich, this year's festival has warning signs telling visitors not to photograph strangers or upload recordings without their consent. The findings raise questions about how effectively social platforms can prevent such material from being uploaded, monetised and repeatedly reposted.
Her yıl renkli görüntülere sahne olan Almanya’nın ünlü festivali Oktoberfest ciddi bir skandalla sarsılıyor
— DW Türkçe (@dw_turkce) September 22, 2026
Festivalde binlerce kadının etek altı görüntüsünün çekildiği ve internete yüklendiği ortaya çıktı pic.twitter.com/lH3jzpxLca
Highlighting a broader trend, a 2026 BBC investigation identified more than 60 social media channels posting so-called 'walking tours' that focus on filming women in dresses and skirts, often from behind or at low angles. Some footage reportedly exposes intimate parts of the body.
Cybernews reported that creators can earn money from such uploads through the platforms' monetisation schemes.
Legal Loopholes and Emerging Surveillance Tech
Canadian content creator Sherif Elbishlawi was ordered to pay CAD$20,000 (US$14,248) in damages for sharing a stranger's intimate images after publishing footage of himself lifting a woman in public, exposing her underwear and part of her buttocks. The British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal found that the footage met the legal definition of intimate images and that the woman had not consented to its publication.
Meanwhile, Cybernews reported that many people involved in such filming do not face justice, while emerging technologies can make harassment and exploitation less noticeable. Male creators now use camera- and microphone-equipped smart glasses to covertly film women and post the footage online while posing as pick-up artists.
While the Bavarian festival is under scrutiny, this kind of privacy violation goes far beyond a single event. Several European countries have introduced laws addressing upskirting in recent years. In England and Wales, the practice became a specific criminal offence in 2019 under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act, with the most serious offences carrying a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Swiss law takes a different approach. Upskirting is covered by Article 179quater of the Swiss Criminal Code, which addresses breaches of secrecy or privacy through the use of image-recording devices. The offence can carry a custodial sentence of up to three years or a monetary penalty and is prosecuted on complaint.
Festival Pushback and Ongoing Moderation Battles
Weighing in on the covert filming, Oktoberfest director Christian Scharpf called the practice a 'disgrace' in an interview with German media, saying secretly filming women under their skirts and posting the footage on social media was unacceptable.
To combat the issue, festival management introduced warning signs in 2025, including a notice at the Teufelsrad ticket booth warning that photographing or filming strangers was prohibited and that such recordings should not be posted online without consent. Operators also offered women free cycling shorts to wear under their dirndls for additional coverage.
Attendees can also access on-site support through the 'Safe Oktoberfest for Girls and Women' campaign, a dedicated Safe Space that has operated since 2003 and averaged around 22 people receiving help and support each evening during the 2025 event.
Meta and TikTok say they remove violating material when it is identified. Even so, the Süddeutsche Zeitung investigation found clone profiles reposting the same footage, showing how material can continue circulating through copycat accounts even after individual posts are removed.
